Nice shot
by normanjaydenofthefbi
Summary: Multi-chaptered inFAMOUS 2 AU ft. Evil!Cole: The beast is in Seattle... [ I went free roam and therefor I just went and wrote the characters from the new up coming game like I think they very well could be. Does not follow that game story line and does not include any but the Rowe's from that game. Sorry for this and such, but hey, the game ain't even out yet. ]
1. Prologue

**Mine is not a new story (everybody dies, there isn't anything you can do about it)**

_Grand tales filled with horror and despair, packed with chaos and ruined lives, all caused by a conduit with eerie, red colored eyes with an abhorrent golden ring around the pupils and electricity running through his veins. He makes his way through countries, leaving nothing but death and wreckage behind, making friends, but foremost enemies along the way. Now the beast is in Seattle and someone isn't all too happy about it. Throw in ghosts from the past, new all around people and a stubborn brother and you got yourself a story. _

**Prologue  
**Cole's eyes were a eerie, **red** color with an abhorrent **golden** ring around the pupils and they didn't really resemble eyes any longer. It were fiery pits of nothingness that he called eyes. That was all they were, nothing less and nothing more and where you once could look into the soul of a vivid young man were now secrets and plans of madness that raised to the surface. Although the eyes were said to be windows to the soul and they were, you couldn't believe that the insanity you saw in them was what his soul was made of now.

How could such a drastic change happen so quick, you may wonder and it's quite a interesting but horrifying story actually. One to be told to children that didn't listen to their parents and needed to learn obedience, because that was all it was: a nightmare.

Pure nightmare material, stories and grand tales of how cities burned down, people fell to the ground to die and how one man could change the situation, turn it upside down for the better or the worse.

You may have guessed it already, but to wipe away any doubt you might have left in that mind of yours, I will indeed confirm that this is our mate Cole. The one that could change all, the only one that possessed the powers to be able to, the man that was always jokingly called the 'chosen one' by his best friend.

It was not a joke anymore, people died by Cole's hand, some bad and some good, in the end it didn't matter, did it? People blurred together and so did his motive: for the better good. All for the better good, but how more time he spent to reach that goal how farther away it seemed to get. He was unable to reach and accomplish the end goal that was set for him.

So he took the easy way out and can you actually look at him and blame the man for it? He was still working for the greater good, even better than the goal he'd set for himself before. This was better, this could happen, this was relevant. And when he looks back on it, he laughs because how could he be so stupid that he actually thought that saving humanity was an option? Cole would shake his head, bring his ever trusty amp down on a rotting human body, or sometimes an alive one and laugh full out.

The greater good was what brought him to the most North-West of the United States these days, seven years after the blast and the choice he had made. Strutting through the old Seattle streets and using his new gained powers to reveal those that could stay and those who needed to go. The humans were living, breathing and moving targets, their whole bodies glowing when he looked at them, a nice, lovely pink that stood out against the rest. The conduits (or potential ones) however, his people, his kind, wouldn't have that surreal glow to them and no targets were painted on their backs.

You may wonder why was he still in America, the states even? Hadn't he gotten enough great powers from John to have conquered the world by now? In theory yes, but with the influence of the reality and feelings he still had, it was different. With the rebellious and still new conduits it took awhile before he could move on to the next city and leave the previous one in the hands of a trusted follower of his. But maybe the more important, read: real, reason was that he wanted to keep his home country intact for the longest, wanted to keep it for the last.

Save the best for the last. It had been his country after all, his home was Empire city and that was located, even though it was destroyed, in the United States and all those he knew and knows, really knew, lived there. He would never tell you that however, no. He would tell you it was just to save his revenge, let it built and then to be released, like the caged animal it was, or so he claimed, then the conduit would laugh. Cole would shake his head, bring his ever trusty amp down on a rotting human body, or sometimes an alive one and laugh full out.

So here he was, making his way down the main road that led to the barriers that separated Seattle from the other infected cities. He was actually taking over the city, read: trying, at the moment. However it was proven difficult, they had armed man here, a so called service to protect and it reminded him of the militia back in New Marais. They called themselves the 'DUP' and Cole hadn't stuck around long enough to know what it stood for. All he knew was that they were some rotten bastards that were making his plans difficult. Unnecessary difficult and it brought the beast, that rested peacefully inside him, out of him and his eyes glowed a eerie red with a abhorrent golden ring around the pupils.

They couldn't stop him, he was the beast, he was the only hope to keep the earth populated. He was practically god with the devastating powers he possessed. Along with the army he created, conduits for all over the world, he was unstoppable. He was a force to be kept in mind and this 'DUP' just didn't know it yet, but soon enough it was going to be clear.

They had guns, he observed, red eyes narrowing and scanning the area, but they had powers. Which counted for much better protection, that was for sure. He wiped out his rusty amp and held it up, blood red electricity surged through it and he grinned. A wolfish grin that looked perfectly at place where it was plastered on his lips. Even when he could use so many other powers by now, electricity was still the one he preferred, felt the best with. It was extremely deathly, even more so than back in the day.

One of the imbeciles shot at him with an assault rifle, thinking it could hurt him. It merely scraped his arm, but with one look the skin began to knit itself back together and not even a scar was there to prove it had hit at all. He cracked his knuckles and ran at the man.

The terrified man, who looked at him with big eyes full of questions, while shooting his gun rapidly at the powerful conduit. It didn't help and Cole shot a lethal lightning bolt with precision at his shoulder. A loud cry was heard and the member of the DUP clawed at his shoulder, or what was left of it. The skin was burned away, flesh melted and blood covering every inch of the bone that stuck out, it was a disgusting sight and already hurts when you looked at it. Just looking, let's stand when you were actually experience the immense pain that rippled through the man's body. If there was a hell, the man thought, it had to be alike to the pain he felt in that moment. Because to him Cole wasn't God, Cole was Satan, the Devil, the Morningstar, Lucifer himself. Cole would never be his savior, but maybe, just maybe, he'd be his reliever.

Cole came to a halt a few meters in front of the man and lifted his amp above his head. With a horrifying grin he let the electricity loaded weapon come down on the other shoulder. Another cry filled the air and this shoulder was in an even worse state. Not only was the flesh and skin gone, burned away, but so was half of the bone. The flesh of his under arm laid disconnected from his shoulder on the pavement, blood was seeping out of the fatal wounds. The man cried out, begging and praying to a God who wasn't going to stop Cole or help him. The man, he realized that and his cries died out with a whimper and he just laid there. He just laid there next to his lone arm, dying and already cooling.

And his reliever he was.

Cole laughed and bowed down, while other conduits fought the idiots that thought they could handle them, handle him. He blew the man a kiss, mocking the as good as dead man and he wondered out loud if heaven and hell existed. Then with a simple salute, hand above his head and moved with a twist once, the self crowned God turned and walked away.

That's how he left the poor human, bleeding out with severe pain on the street, left to die. And the funny thing was Cole couldn't care one bit. Couldn't care one tiny bit if heaven and hell existed, if there was something up in the sky, anything at all, because Cole, Cole was going to bring the paradise to earth himself.


	2. Chapter one: Work out

**Chapter one  
**They worked together, as a supremely good team, through the waves of DUP that kept coming and boy were that many of those sons of bitches. How much of those guys did they have? It didn't matter however, every time he let his amp or his hand loaded with electricity merciless come down on the poor human beings, they were dead before he even got to them, but not once did he feel guilty. He didn't do guilty..

Their faiths were sealed the moment they decided, like the stupid humans they were, to join the service… wait no, that would be a lie. Their faiths were sealed the moment they were born human. Born normal and wasn't that a weird concept. People did everything to be normal, fade away in the mass, but now it meant their downfall. Oh, how the world turned around since that fateful day. A day he observed as one of the best he ever experience, but knew many saw as doomsday, the day everything was lost.

He rammed a poor woman into the wall next to him and grinned at her. The wolfish grin that graced his lips was enough to make every being shiver with fear. He liked to toy with his enemies, but time was ticking and the sun wasn't getting higher.

He nodded to an conduit next to him, an unnamed girl and she gathered something in her palms. Thick, black energy right there in the palm of her hand. She shot it at the wall separating them and the inside city.

Simply said, they broke in, the made shift walls fell away when he sent a shockwave against them and he smiled. The unnamed girl with the black mass was lost out of sight when he looked to his side once more. He shrugged and watched the beautiful sight before him.

Good morning, Seattle!

Civilians ran and screamed in the streets, some were shot down by ice and fire and died in an instant. He didn't care for those, wouldn't even care if they were potential conduits, if they were they weren't relevant, he couldn't feel any big energy source. They wouldn't be of any use to Cole and so he just let his army storm in and take down as many as they liked. Which were many.

The DUP still tried to keep them away, kill as many of them as they could, but they were failing. Failing their propose and it was great, for Cole that is. If he was a DUP officer, he wouldn't be all too content with the work his troops were doing. But then again how could they ever be prepared for the raging power the Beast and his army brought with him? Nobody could handle Cole MacGrath, conduit, the Beast, leader, God.

He didn't see how it could go wrong anymore, it had never gone wrong and why would his misfortune start now? While Seattle had been harder, mainly because of the DUP stationed there, to take over now he was on a roll. And even though he shouldn't think before himself, because no they weren't quite done yet, he couldn't stop himself. Even though he knew better, he wanted to toy with those poor beings for a little while, he wanted some fun too and he ripped one of the civilians from their place in the crowd and held him tight.

This was Cole's fun and he knew he wouldn't have to worry about anyone attacking him in the back. His conduits knew very well how much their leader liked his playtime and would, even if it cost their own life, protect him. Call it loyalty or hopelessness, it worked either way for him.

''What cha name, man?'' He drawled, coming way to close in the man's personal space. Said man obviously wasn't comfortable with it, they never were… maybe it were the eyes. He tucked his amp away, back in his bag and acted a lot more casual than you would expect between bodies of dead men. It made the already unbelievable uncomfortable even worse.

''Reggie.'' The fear flashed across the human's face and his voice wavered. It was to be expected and Cole wasn't even disappointed in the lack of struggle anymore. Getting a human with some backbone these days proved harder and harder.

He loomed over Reggie and grinned, but suddenly his expression turned sour. What was that in the air? It was sweet and sour at the same time, it was pleasant but unpleasant. He clawed at his nose, like the animal he really was and tried to locate the smell. He couldn't. Not with all the fighting going on around him, with the humans screaming and the DUP so badly trying to protect their city.

What was that smell?

What the hell, this guy… this guy, no conduit, not a guy, not like him, reminded Reggie of his little brother. Said little brother who, if he had the fucking time, could save him from the clutches of this beast. Even though their bond wasn't like most siblings, he was almost certain his little brother didn't want to see him dead… well at least he hoped. He just needed this own favor, he needed his sibling to save him from this beast's iron grip. This beast that had slain half of the DUP that was located in Seattle and was probably going to destroy and kill a lot more than he could imagine. The only thing he knew for sure was that it was going to be a massacre, a bloodbath.

''Ah ha, Reggie!'' Too cheery to be real. The harden eyes and scarred face also didn't help him come over as the friendly old contact he tried to play. It was all just a game and Reggie wasn't fooled by the act or the mask he suddenly had taken to wearing.

''Nice to meet you.'' The smile was just as fake and Reggie could see the real man, read: monster, in his eyes, combined with madness and surreal anger. It scared Reggie and not a lot did that for him since the reunion with his sibling. He was right this man in front of him was no man, it was a pure monster filled with darkness not understandable for him.

If he'd to compare the conduit with someone he'd say Satan, Lucifer, The Morningstar, The devil, Judas, Cain, The emperor, The Joker, Hitler, Kaddafi, Berlusconi, Stalin, Darth Vader and so he could go on and on. He could go through the history books in his closet and point you at every single one of the evil bastard through entire human history and tell you why this man, in just the few minutes he knew him, reminded him of them.

However if he'd to be honest what the conduit described spot on was simply Darkness itself.

Just Darkness.


	3. Chapter 2: Meetings

**Chapter two  
**Reggie murmured something that Cole didn't quite catch, the conduit leaned forward and whispered in his ear. His breath, probably smelly as hell, ghosted over the ear shell and he saw the shiver run up the guy's spin. He smiled, eyes hardening and tongue licking his lips.

Oh beast, the fear was so great. Even now after encountering so many people who shit their pants for him, it still was amazing to see one and know that they peed their pants because of your own mere presence. It gave him a sense of power, an almighty power.

''What was that, Reggie?'' His voice was gruff and husky, giving off the wrong vibe to the other. He sounded like a dog who wanted a fuck, was how he could describe it in the most easy way there was. If he needed to go into details, nobody would be happy.

Reggie's eyes went big from surprise, bulging out and struggled against the iron hold the conduit had on him, what did this creep want from him? Besides the obvious pleasure of seeing him in distress. Which he seemed to enjoy immensely.

''What do you need from me?'' His voice was still soft, but audible now. Straight to the point. Not twisting around the obvious issue between them and it wasn't just because they couldn't decide on what to have for dinner.

The beast's eyes narrowed and a glance, more like a glare, was shot in his general direction. The human was bolt and Cole didn't know exactly if he preferred them like that or not. Maybe he did have a little bit of fight left in him, even now.

He observed the man, Reggie, and wasn't really impressed with what he saw. A man in probably his thirties, not too bulky and he probably couldn't even lift Cole of the ground. It was then that Reggie noticed their unreal color, a eerie, red color with a abhorrent golden ring around the pupils. His mind went in overdrive, that wasn't a color that came natural was it?

Grey, blue, green, brown. No red in that row. No, not natural.

It scared him even more, but he bit his lip to keep him from shuddering of fear. Maybe if he played the tough guy, like the other, he was going to be freed. Probably not, but hey, why not try? What did he have to lose really? In the best scenario he was going to get a quick, swift death, preferably painless, but he was doubting it.

''Nothing really.'' Cole shrugged, all business and the wrinkles in his face stood out. In that moment he looked older than he was, but he shook it off and grinned. It was the stress that got to him sometimes, being the leader of an army of super humans was quite tiring sometimes.

''Just a good time.'' Reggie's brows went up, till hair covered them, so high they went. The dog metaphor flashed through his mind one more time and he should've bit his tongue, but it slipped past his lips before he realized it.

''Sorry to disappoint, but I really need to get home to my little brother.'' He coughed, the grip wasn't the most pleasant thing to have around your neck. He wasn't into kinky shit like that, but he was sure his brother was all up to it. If the little shit was going to save him… probably not.

''Plus I don't swing that way.'' Stupid, stupid, stupid. Reggie scowled at himself. He deserved a metal for his stupidity. First place for mister Reggie Rowe! Golden metal, great job and something extra because you pissed the guy off. Want to get this now or be sent to your family after your funeral?

Cold tension was alive in the air and Cole didn't even notice when a DUP member bumped into his back to just be gripped by an ice mutant and dragged away from their leader. Playtime turned to serious time. Serious time with Cole MacGrath was even worse than playtime with Cole MacGrath.

Cole didn't notice the temperature going down when the poor bastard was frozen just a few meters behind them. He was a potential one even and Cole didn't even notice the smell that swirled around his head for a few seconds.

Sweet and sour at the same time.

He didn't notice the bullets grazing his skin and some that buried themselves into his flesh. Didn't see how his flesh knitted itself back together and how the metal bullets were plunked out of himself to fall to the ground with a loud thud.

He didn't notice all fights going on around him, which were many, just the rage that built inside him.

How could this human think he was good enough for him to betray Trish? Even though his love died a long time back in Empire city, before Kuo, before Nix and before John, she was still on his mind. Every single minute he wasn't busy with his world plans.

Even now seven damn years later he still drinks anything he can find on what was supposed to be their ninth anniversary, all he manages to do, on what is supposed to be a joyful day, is sit inside and drink. Drink, drink, drink, but alcohol doesn't get to him any longer and he never gets the blessing of being in a stupor of drunkenness. The memories of her, her laugh and her death still spooked around his head.

The grip on Reggie's limbs and neck tighten and he was lifted up in the air, effectively cutting off his air supply. He clawed at the arm wrapped around his neck, but Cole didn't even feel the scratches he made on his skin, those healed in mere seconds. Not even visible evidence of them remained. You could see the boiling rage in his eyes, the fiery pits were flaming.

''What makes you think I want you?'' He spitted out the last word and looked down, both literally and psychically, on him. You could see the disbelieve that was written on his face and in that moment it was like it was just the two of them in the whole universe.

By now Reggie's face turned a deep red going to purple, arms slack and legs not reacting anymore. So it wasn't like he could really focus anymore, but even he felt that. Cole dropped him, whipping out his amp. The red eyes went wide and he sniffed the air again, while the human coughed up his lungs. Not literally, but close enough.

He could smell the gen on Reggie, not in him, but on. That was the smell from earlier!

Sweet and sour at the same time.

The person he came in contact the most had to be one of the strongest conduit or potential one Cole had smelt in a while. It was a nice fresh scent, sweetness and sourness fading to the background when he delved deeper in the smell.

The scent was a mix of smoke and fire and reminded him of Nix. His heart ached, it was almost exactly as hers had been before she closed her eyes forever and took her last breath. Just the faint smell of oil was missing. Nix was no longer and he knew, but well he could use another with powers like hers. Her powers had been devastating and one of the few he couldn't recreate and use for himself. Fire, yes, a little, but smoke and oil were things he didn't even ever touch. Only hurt was brought with them.

So he observed Reggie and formed something you could compare to a magnet in his hand. It was a bright orange and had a form of a sphere with a circle in the middle, which was giving out shocks to the rest.

It was alike to a magnet, the form and what it did, the huge different was that it attracted Cole, not just any metal and well it was made entirely out of electricity. It was a nifty trick he had picked up from a wise old woman back in the ruins that people knew as Java. Before he destroyed it during a nightmare. A shame, he actually began to like the place. That's, he remembered, where he got the kid with the black mass to join them. Maybe that's why the old woman didn't like him all that much, it was her grandkid right? That was something to think about.

The old woman showed him how to make a little detection device from his powers. To do it was simple, create a little pile of energy between your fingers and form it in a little ball. To make it actually work was proven fairly difficult. The old woman made him do it several times himself, before she actually helped him and only then did she help because she lost her foot by a stray bolt of his. 'Just an accident' he claimed, 'just because I'm frustrated' and 'sorry, but we don't want that to happen again do we?'. So she helped and here he was actually using it for the first time, it better work for her sake and that of the people of Seattle. Or else a big explosion would follow, he wasn't a star in controlling his famous temper.

He flicked it at Reggie, he didn't really care if he saw it or not and it latched on his coat almost immediately. If he did it right nobody could pluck it off the material, now just to hope he kept it on while he made his way to his home.

Cole mused and watched the last members of the DUP, at least in this part of the city, go down. Soon they needed to retreat, his people were tired, hungry and thirsty. He saw it in the way they lacked the strength they had before. Their teeth were gritted together and lips drawn in a tight line. They were tired and whole Seattle would be too much.

It was surreal with how fast the time went, they were in the gates at around two o'clock and they were nearing nine. How long did he already stood there with the human, Reggie?  
**  
**One ice mutant jumped up and down, shooting ice shards at a guy in heavy armor. He clearly had a hard time killing the human, but nobody jumped in, they all just snickered and pointed at the idiot that couldn't even get a simple human with some armor down.

By the time Cole let his gaze waver from the somewhat stupid conduit, Reggie was already standing again, a little shaky but standing none the less. The magnet shined bright from where it stuck to the back of his coat, but he didn't seem concerned with that at the moment. He patted himself off and shot a wary glance at Cole. Said conduit shrugged and pointed at the street, mouthing: 'go'. Reggie didn't need to be told twice and was off. Perky, little human.

Reggie dodged ice shards that zoomed past his head and leaped over the death bodies of others, trying not to gag. So they had finally reached them… he of course knew why they were here, to take and destroy. The march of conduits went already over the whole world, leaving some areas untouched but most was ruined. People dead, to only let conduits see daylight. The news, or the channels that still functioned which were few, told them about the news they could gather, which was little. Conduits coming for the United States next was the head story of the media that week. Reggie would never imagined they could get to them, Seattle, so soon, with them being in the outer point of the USA. Yet it was how it was and here they were. Ready to take and destroy.

The man could already see his freedom, the alleyway with the bright lights, he always hated because his eyes got all messed up from them, but god always had such a way of punching him in the face when all looked up. He wasn't one of his more favorite creations that was for sure.

The dim ice conduit landed right in front of him, fending off a DUP officer and collided with Reggie. With an loud 'oof!' he stumbled back and fell. That was all there really was to it, he tripped over his own feet and fell.

The clumsy little human.

Maybe if that was all and he didn't bang his head on the newly formed ice block, he could've walked away from the scene, but no, he smashed his head against the block of ice the foolish conduit just threw across the ground. And ice, even though it smelts so easily, is a solid hit.

Needless to say Reggie didn't rose and made his way home. To his brother, to freedom. He merely fell back, head bleeding a little and eyes closed firmly. The poor bastard blacked out, seeing stars and Cole watched in pity.

No. Not pity, Cole MacGrath didn't do pity anymore.

He let electricity flow through his amp, even when he didn't intend to use it against the last standing DUP officer. That was too easy and not spectacular enough of an exit. He was going out with a bang, not a whimper. He was Cole MacGrath, he was god.

He merely let two lines of energy come from his fingers, both a dark red with a faint golden glow to them. It was an terrifying sight. He almost never used this power, it cost him more energy than he really can afford in combat and plus it wasn't painful or quick enough. It didn't have the certain perks other powers did have, like his electricity. His electricity was everything, but sometimes it was nice to use some of the less frequent used powers. Exciting, new and unknown. The unknown didn't only bring bad news.

The two strings, that uncomfortable so looked suspiciously a lot like tentacles, slithered over the with ice covered ground to the fighting duo. An broad DUP officer and a stupid ice conduit. Cole couldn't understand how the conduit was still alive with his stupidity.

They went through the legs of conduits that were cheering at the fight and obvious enjoying the little show and up the curb, leaving a sick red slime behind. Nobody even saw it happen, all clapping and shouting insults at both human and conduit, nobody even paid Reggie, unconscious Reggie, any attention, except Cole.

Except Cole… because Cole wanted to find this one that smelt so much like Nix, just like how he'd wanted to find that one that smelt so much like Kuo. He didn't find Kuo v2.0, so he'd be damned if he didn't find Nix v2.0 either. Nix v2.0. better was going to be fucking worth all the effort.

The Cole tentacles wrapped themselves so silently as possible around the legs of the officer and when they were well secured, they constricted. The thick red veins in the tentacles bulged up and they bit in the flesh of the chubby legs. The DUP member let a gasp of surprise slip from his lips and his rocket launcher fell from his fat hands, clattering to the frozen ground with a thud. His eyes bulged and blood dripped from his mouth onto his hands, that clawed desperately at the tentacles that made the circulation in his legs stop. The little rows of sharp white teeth hacked away at the legs, blood covering every inch of skin. Even though they looked like tentacles they sure as hell didn't act like them.

One of the tentacles unwrapped itself, covered in the crimson substance, and slithered up towards the sweaty neck of the officer. Hands were batted away and his mouth filled with blood, not all his own. The crimson fluid left his mouth and covered his face and chest. His once white armored suit was now a deep red color and it looked good on him, if Cole could say so. Red looked good on all his victims.

By now every conduit that was present stopped clapping, mouths agape, none were used to the power their leader had. Would they ever get used to it? Probably not. The ice idiot was watching too, a heavy ice block held in his hands and that was dropped abruptly. Had he fucked up? Probably.

One of the fat tentacles wounded itself around the neck of his next victim and let its tip touch the man's cheek. The tentacles liked the game a little too much, but Cole didn't like the game anymore and enough was enough, the tentacles intruded the man's mouth this time. Said man was struggling heavily but to no avail, he was stronger. Always would be stronger than everyone. He was god.

With a simple flick of his wrist the tentacles gave out a extreme painful load of electricity, deadly enough to kill a simple human. Some million volt did that for you. The officer fell to the ground, tentacles still stuffed in his mouth, where it got covered in intestines and loads of blood. The other had several chunks of skin stuck to it and with a mind of its own tried to get rid of those.

When they got too feisty, he needed to end it. With another simple flick of his wrist, Cole disposed of the extensions and when they lost contact went up in dust almost immediately. Without him they were nothing, nothing at all. He turned his head towards a certain human and nodded: Reggie needed to come with them, because Cole wasn't going to do the dirty work anymore.


	4. Chapter 3: Memories

**Chapter three  
**Cole sat down on the bed he claimed. They were in an old barn to the south of Seattle, having called it a day just mere hours away from midnight. Who are they, you may want to know? With 'they' it was really just Cole and some of the conduits he thought he could trust more than others. They weren't practically trustworthy or loyal just more so than others, but never as much as Kuo had been, as Zeke and Nix had been before the fatal decision.

Zeke was long dead, died a hero even though he didn't stand at Cole's side, he refused to see his brother as anything but a hero. How the dark haired man had clutched the life saving device in his hands, desperate to protect his cause with a simple pistol he nicked from some guy. It was a desperate attempt, but a brave one at that and not a day went by that he didn't wish for the good ol' days with Trish and Zeke.

Even if you couldn't believe it Cole still had some sanity left and humanity, although both were hidden quite well… or maybe Trish and Zeke were just the exception on the 'all humans are pieces of shit' rule Cole created for his self at the begin of his terror.

But fuck, he missed his brother and lover. Sometimes he wished he never stopped Kessler from doing what he wanted, maybe, just maybe this hadn't happened then… maybe. Yet it was foolish of him to think everything would have been better then, because it wouldn't have been. John would still have been the beast and Trish still would have died, same for Zeke.

You made your fucking mistakes, MacGrath, get the fuck over them. It has been seven years… But Cole couldn't even listen to himself and he took a swing from the whiskey, that didn't make him drunk anymore.

The bottle was cold, icy cold and he remembered he asked one of the fire conduits to store all his liquor in the now cooling body of the stupid ice conduit. The body was a perfect fridge. With the unnatural cold body temperature of -67 C under zero. He chugged another half a liter down and sighed.

Kuo had also been so cold once, maybe even colder, it wouldn't surprise him if she was. Fuck, Lucy was the best partner he could have asked for in the business. She knew how to get people to listen, do what she commanded and don't riot against their leadership. Maybe that is what you got for working with the agency for years.

He remembered the facial expression she had when she showed her new found powers to him. It was terrifying for the both of them, but more so for that agent, that didn't exactly like conduits. She had grown and so did her powers, in the end she could freeze armies of men and not break a sweat.

She was quite the amazing woman and stunningly beautiful, but his loyalty to Trish hadn't faded with time, so the flame they found between the two of them was never ignited.

Lucy Kuo died in France, in Paris to be exact and it was all because of stupid humans. It was also the reason why Paris seemed to be faded away from the surface of the planet earth, just a big crater laid there now with a ice cold body in the middle. Cole didn't dare move her when she died, her eyes became even more paler than they already were and so did her skin. He left her there, promising to fulfill his job for John and her. Sometimes he felt ashamed he didn't gave her a proper burial, but he knows she wouldn't have cared for one, she just cared for their mission, like the business woman she was.

Nix had been the exact opposite, hot headed and up for anything. He missed her maybe more than Kuo, mainly because she could have been the woman that could help him get over Trish, but with both another opinion and side in the war they got ripped apart and their relationship had no chance of even starting.

He blamed himself for her death, for all their deaths. He hadn't been quick enough, strong enough, smart enough to help them, save them and so they died. The loneliness got to him sometimes when he let the walls of protection down in his heart and mind, let his guard down, which was weird now.

He chugged down the whiskey and didn't feel the burn he so badly wanted to experience. He clinked the bottle against another.

''Half as long, twice as bright, brother.''

Reggie's dream was filled with nightmare figures and shadow monsters that climbed all over him, overwhelming him and slowly but surely killing him. He struggled for breath and the monsters held him down, covering his face with blackness and making sure he was desperate for air.

He tried to pull them off him, but their arms were constricted around his back and face. They clutched him close and poured their substance in his mouth and nose. Flaring pain rippled through his muscles and somewhere he felt another substance along with the black fluid.

It smelt sour and sweet at the same time and he tried to see what it was, but his arm didn't reach as far as he wanted and his eyes were covered in pure blackness.

Oil was poured over his whole body, covering him in the black fluid and the heavy blackness was lifted off his mouth. He breathed in deeply and coughed almost so hard it was like his lungs were going to come out. Fortunately they didn't and Reggie got a few moments to calm down.

Yet like god wanted to ruin his ever breathing moments, he felt bile raise in his throat. And it tasted… tasted like oil. The substance cut off his air supply and once again left him gasping for air, something, anything.

Then all faded away and the nightmare stopped, but waking up… Reggie didn't.

Cole was watching his captive, who laid peacefully on the bed, breathing in deeply and out. The conduit himself couldn't get Hypnos to visit him and it left his restless. With another bottle of whiskey, which he got from one of the guys outside, he just stood in the doorway of the human's temporary room. He watched him, but not in a stalker manner, just in a curious manner of a little kid or a kitten. Cole liked the unknown and Reggie was new.

All was well until something came out of the man's mouth. It was black and it smelt like… like Nix. Oil, he realized and Cole took a step into the room. In shock maybe, but he'd deny that later if any asked about it. Or he would just shoot them, that was always an option too.

Why was it coming out of his mouth and nose? He observed Reggie from closer by and nodded when he saw it was indeed oil. The smell already betrayed itself and from the time he spent with Nix it was no question really. That shouldn't happen.

''How?'' He muttered, eyes glowing brightly while he inspected the fluid. His own personal pair of flashlight, he mused. It was pitch black and thick.

Clicks of heels were heard and the door was pushed open all the way. He ignored it and scooped up some of the black substance and sniffed it.

It was oil for sure and he wiped off his finger at his pant leg. Said pants had seen better days, this pair was ripped to shreds and holes were overall in the fabric.

''Cole?'' Sasha spoke softly, coming a tad closer to his side. She placed her hand on his shoulder, nails piercing the skin and she smiled. With her unoccupied hand she touched the glob of oil that was still steadily coming out of Reggie's mouth and nose.

''Disgusting,'' She moved her hand from side to side and the oil flew of her skin. ''Looks good on him though.'' Her light chuckle filled the room, but Cole didn't view it as funny and shot her a glare. It made her shut up and lower her hand from the place it rested against the beast's bicep. In the past Sasha wouldn't have taken any commands from the male, but times changed and Cole was far beyond powerful. He was practically their god. A god that you shouldn't want to anger in the least.

''How is this possible, Sasha?'' Even though his powers went beyond any length, Sasha had been around in the dark world of the conduits longer than him and she had seen so much. The good and the bad, mostly the bad. She inspected the man and nodded to herself.

''Ah I see!'' She said and turned around on the spot. While Cole looked dumbfounded, she stormed out of the room, door shutting with a bang and made her way towards the living room of the place. There on the couch was a younger boy, that looked like a mini Sasha, except well he was a boy. He groaned when his idol stormed in.

''You need to stop this behavior, Junior, our leader isn't liking it. Stop now.'' The boy, Junior, stopped immediately. With what exactly? Well, our dear Junior here can practically change people's dream and make the barrier between reality and the dream world thinner. It was quite a lame power, especially because other conduits were immune to his gift.

Junior not wanting to upset the woman he wanted to be like or the man who could kill them all in a second, settled down on the couch and huffed. Sasha scowled and slapped his cheek, she had gotten softer with the time and age, but she wasn't tolerating this from the boy she saw as something alike to a son. He grabbed his cheek and pouted. She shook her head and pointed towards the stairs.

Said stairs where Cole descended from at the moment, the beast shot the younger conduit a scary look and it made Junior dash to his room as quick as possible. Cole shot a bolt after the boy just to scare him and he grinned.

Sasha didn't dare voice her thoughts on how the other was going too far, she didn't want to get murdered out of irritation after all.

''Did it stop?'' She asked, voice filled with fake cheeriness, she actually was quite scared about what the other conduit was going to do. His red eyes settled on her and it was obvious she was nervous.

''Sure did.'' Cole laughed.


	5. Chapter 4: Big brother

**Chapter four  
**Delsin wasn't the one in the Rowe family to be concerned about others, the only one he gave two shits about was himself. His parents couldn't care less about their second son and Reggie was just there to fucking nag about how he was always doing the wrong things. He didn't need any of them in his life.

It was his game plan, yourself first, the rest comes second and it had worked well till now. Very good actually, but there was something alive in the pit of his stomach that ate away at him. Concern and worries flying through his mind, where was his motherfucking ass of a brother?

He sat on Reggie's couch and zapped through the channels. Reggie should have been home by now, dawn was already upon the people of Seattle and somehow Delsin Rowe worried about his sack of shit brother Reggie Rowe.

At first the younger brother hadn't thought any of it, himself being out all day practicing and his brother supposedly going to his job, but when the clock told him it was already six and his brother hadn't come home yet, nagging at Delsin for not cooking dinner, the pit of worry was planted.

Now it was six in the morning of the next day, precise a full day that he last saw his brother or even more because Reggie had gone to bed at ten, while he'd set fire to the bushes next to their home.

Fuck, where was that idiot? He took out his phone and pressed the '1', he got that fucker under the hotkey. It went over and for a second he prepared himself to release a shit storm of curses on his sibling.

Something like; 'It's great you finally found a living, breathing, walking human being, preferably female, but if you bat for the other team, that's fine, bro, who's willing to sleep with you, but you could have fucking give me a ring you were going to spent the night at your new lover's home. It's not like I worried or anything, you idiot, I just need to know if I need to cook myself.'

Something like that, yeah… but the change didn't appear. He went straight to voicemail. With a loud growl he tossed the phone onto the table and his eyes finally rested on the television screen.

Their local news channel was on and distress was clear. The newsreader, with a frantic expression, told about a riot and Delsin really didn't care. He took the remote between his fingers and switched the TV off.

''Fuck you, Reggie.'' He muttered and maybe that was his first real mistake, because he didn't see that distressed woman tell her story about why she was so fucking distress. Mainly because of the beast, but that piece of information, well that, Delsin missed.

Junior scurried off to the room, more so a closet, where Sasha said he was going to sleep. The young conduit felt terrible not only had he made the woman he wanted to be like angry at him, but he pissed off their leader, Cole Macgrath, the beast. That wasn't something you did, nop, not if you wanted to keep that pretty head of yours.

Junior heard stories from his care taker about how the beast hadn't always been just that, the beast, how he was a normal guy at first and slowly changed in the terrible monster he was nowadays.

Sasha told him the grand tale about a delivery boy in Empire City and how fate had chosen him for greater things. She rambles on and on about a box and a device that glowed an eerie blue inside it, how Cole cracked it open and about one of the biggest explosions she had ever seen. She has drawn it for him once, a big blue and red explosion that left nothing but wreckage and chaos. Inside, right in the middle, she always draws a stick figure with hearts around his head. She never really confirmed it was indeed their leader, but Junior knew and it scared him.

How could Sasha be in love with that nightmare figure straight out of hell? Sasha of all people! Cold blooded Sasha that had picked him up solely for his powers, but began to care a little with time. The same woman that merciless led the Reapers back in the day and killed more humans and conduits than you could count. Yet here she was drawing hearts around the stick figure, that Junior knew was Cole, like a love sick teenager. Disgusting.

The boy shook his head, bangs falling in his face and he scuffed. Why was the beast even so pissed? It was just a mere human he practiced his gift on. Just a human and like he said himself: 'humans ain't worth nothing.' What made this one an exception to the golden rule? Why was this one different than others? Why was this man special… Junior narrowed his brown eyes and a purple glow became visible around the edges, seeping in and coloring his vision.

He dreamed about stupid stuff, monsters that a little kid saw under his bed and picnics. One moment he is completely happy and the other he's tossing around, gasping for air. It wasn't anything Junior didn't see before, back with Sasha and the Reaper gang, she let him feed of normal citizens, not knowing what hit them. Those dreams were filled with the same figures and the same, somewhat boring, stories. Again and again. It was really nothing new and Junior understood it was just the humans unconscious part of his brain reacting to the situation.

It was stupid. The man upstairs was stupid. The whole fucking situation of Cole being the all mighty leader was stupid. Sasha was stupid for falling in love with the beast. He was stupid for fucking up.

He borrowed his head in his knees, but sobbing wasn't going to answer any of the questions he possessed.

Why did Cole keep the human without any potential alive in their temporary base? Was the man really so reckless? Did he really think he was unstoppable, and he sort of was, that nobody could hurt him any longer? Junior didn't know what Cole was thinking, but he sure as heck was going to get to the bottom of it.

Reggie opened his eyes and immediately closed them again. A blinding white light shone right into his pupils and it burned. He blinked, once, twice and then again tried to look around. This time he rolled on his side first before opening his eyes. The light shone on his cheek and temple, but luckily missed his eyes.

He pressed a cold hand to his forehead and went to sit up straight. The dizziness hit him right on and he fell back down onto the grass with a pained 'oof'. The blinding light from earlier actually was the bright sun that shone onto Seattle that day and Reggie laughed at his own stupidity.

''If you can't laugh at your own flaws…'' Wait, what? He touched the grass that rested beneath his palms and surely it was as real as himself. He scanned the area he was in swiftly and came to the conclusion that he in a park. Which park? Well that was unknown for him. It didn't really matter at the moment, what did matter was to find out why the fuck he was in a park at all.

The last thing he remembered was that he was on his way to work, to just be stopped by some DUP's. They told him he needed to get out the car, so they could search it. He remembered asking why. He remembered the man that was shining in his face with his everlight.

An everlight was the new kind of flashlight the DUP invented around the six year after doomsday. Some crazy guy, Michael something something, came around with the gadget and the higher-ups did like the idea. Shine with the thing on someone's bare skin, and only bare skin, and if it lighted up a light purple you knew. Knew if someone was a bio-terrorist of just a human. The only downside the damn thing had was that, one: it made the skin that it was shone on itch like a motherfucker and two: it only worked on conduits that already were in the third stage A.K.A. as having their powers out and about.

'Why would you need to search my car, for goodness sake?' He remembered the stiff answer he received. The DUP obviously had a long day and he understood that, but it didn't give him the right to shine is everlight right in his eyes.

'Tone it down a little, sir. It is just security precaution.' But it wasn't and when the wall around their city was broken down, Reggie knew why they needed to search his vehicle. Had heard the explosion behind him and he knew he needed to get out of the main streets as fast as he possible could.

He remembered seeing several people came through the gap in the wall and in front of them was a man. A single man with a dangerous aura around him, he'd something clasped tightly in his hands, but from where Reggie stood he couldn't make out what it was. The man radiated power, it came of him in thick waves and it didn't lay Reggie one bit. Too much power for just one man, that could never be healthy.

He remembered the first scream. A woman's, high and pitch and it echoed around in the streets. He also remembered why she screamed, it was rather hard to miss. Something black of massive size was stuck in her chest and she clawed at it, with her last strength. It was like a black mass formed into a spear. It was crazy and surreal, he couldn't rip his glued eyes away from it.

Later, when she already closed her eyes for the last time, Reggie discovered what the black thing was exactly. It moved from where it pierced the woman's body, it uncurled to reveal a woman. A woman with short black hair and vibrant green eyes, she had scales all over her body, but somehow remained beautiful in an unique way. Her eyes were glowing an unnerving black and she let it go in a burst, like she was shooting a gun. Some hit poor bastards, others just bounced through the battlefield.

She grinned and happily skipped farther down the street, her body language just screamed: pleased. Reggie had a hard time keeping his lunch down, the mingled body of the woman was the most disgusting thing he ever saw in his life. He managed to not vomit right there and then, but when he saw the next victim of an conduit he actually did barf up his lunch. Pancakes and sausages right there on the passenger's seat.

The second victim was a short man, flung against Reggie's car door and from where he sat he could see that his lower body was entirely missing, only a few strings of flesh and veins remaining.

People moved around them, frantically screaming and panicking. All Reggie could do was stare and try not to cry. He didn't know if he could have moved, if it wasn't for the DUP officer, who forced him to move along with a crowd.

A thick crowd it was, women, men and children. Every single one more afraid than the person before. Reggie was the one you would find last.

Then out of nothing a scarred hand gripped his sleeve and pulled him away from the group. The tattooed arm belonged to a muscled man, the man with the dangerous aura. He faintly reminded him of Delsin, the same grin and the same twinkle to the eyes. One big difference were the eyes though. Where those of Delsin where a warm brown, those of the man were a eerie, red color with a abhorrent golden ring around the pupils. A mouth full, but somehow it was the only right description. Not just red, not just gold.

He tried to get an excuse for the man to let him go and with his brother already in his head, he ranted the reasons of one by one in his head. The roll of devoted sibling was the one, he deemed most likely to work. He watched the shows, read the books and that was what they all did. His life may not have been a book or a TV show, but it didn't hurt to try. Well not yet, if the man decided to break his neck the pain was going to be quite well painful.

It could have worked, if he hadn't said the next part in his haste and fear. The vibe wasn't helping Reggie get rid of the idea of sexual predator the conduit gave off. Said conduit wasn't pleased with his cheeky behavior and when he couldn't breathe anymore, it wasn't a surprise.

Then he was slam dunked to the ground and his head hit the pavement. Hard. And the few minutes that followed were removed from his memory and only blackness remained. The last thing he remembered is how the guy let him go and how he tried to escape the madness that was unfolding. He jumped over bodies, bodies that were already going cold and he dodged bullet and ice (ice!) that zoomed through the air. When he almost made it. Almost. Something, or rather someone, slammed into his side and Reggie went sprawling to the ground and once again his head made contact with the ground.

From then on it was black.

What the hell happened after that? He obviously wasn't in the cold street of Seattle anymore. What kind of crucial event was he missing? What did he miss and where was Delsin, when you fucking needed him?

The shining bright magnet at the back of his coat wasn't noticed by him and that was his fatal mistake.

Devoted sibling roll? Sorry, mister Reggie Rowe, we already have someone else.

Delsin was getting impatient and it wasn't a good thing when he got like that. It meant broken furniture and fried pets to come home to. It wasn't so to say, pleasant, because most of the time impatience also meant anger. And an angry Delsin was bad news for about everybody, including himself.

The smoke gathered in his palm, coming together at the centre and becoming one dark cloud of pure smoky chaos. He gave it a look, a firm glare, and soon it swirled around his head in a small line, straight and clean. His control had gotten better over the months and he didn't just burn his own hair and clothes anymore.

He toyed with his gift a little and tried to keep his mind of his brother, but it just worked for limited time and then he just snapped. And when he snapped, he snapped real good. Delsin jumped up, teeth barred and smoke aggressively shooting through the room. No, Delsin Rowe's temper wasn't a small one.

It went in croaks, squares and circles through the space. One puff of smoke swirled around a chair and with one flick of Delsin's wrist, the chair fell. It bounced of the stone tiling and one of the wooden, half burned legs was broken off when the smoke rushed against it. It was Reggie's favorite chair and the mere thought of the broken look that his sibling would have on his face, made the younger smile.

It was like a big, unsaid fuck you to his brother. Not that he didn't say it out loud enough, he did frequently, along with other insults, which were better left unspoken.

Yet the dark cloud wasn't done yet, not even near done, and it made its way towards the kitchen, opening an cupboard and taking a plate from inside. His smoke was almost like a human, in the way it moved and acted. Fantastic. The plate, once a pearly white, was engulfed with the smoke and it wrapped itself around the porcelain. A crack was heard, then two and three and then the plate, of what was left it, came clashing to the ground and broke in even more pieces, where it slammed against the floor. The ground was littered with the little grey pieces and Delsin needed to remind Reggie to clean it up. When the bastard came home that is.

The grin on Delsin's face widened, splitting his face, and still with his back to the kitchen door, the smoke came back fast. It took its rightful place in Delsin's hand, right at the centre. The bright smile that rested on his lips soon turned to a frown.

'' Where the fuck are you, Reggie?'' And no, he wasn't worried about that idiot of a brother, of course not. Delsin Rowe didn't do worry, he was just concerned his only source of food, money and housing abandoned him. Yup, that was it, totally. He didn't want to cover that shit for himself now, did he? No, that was Reggie's only real propose in his eyes. Yup, that was it, totally.


	6. Chapter 5: Secrets

**Chapter five  
**Cole sat down on the couch and he groaned. No sleep and feeling like everyone depended on you made you feel like shit, that was for sure. Especially because it was true, the humans, too ignorant to see, were slowly dying out. Even if the poor souls didn't want to face the cold, hard truth, the fact remained true and the only hope to keep mother earth populated was for Cole to save those who he could. He couldn't change, didn't want to change, the fact that the only living beings that he could save were conduits.

It wasn't his fault. It wasn't his fault. It wasn't his fault. It was because of the plague, that was the real cause of all the terror and sadness, he hadn't made the plague or set it free, it just came and destroyed. But it didn't matter how many times he repeated it in his head, there was a voice in his head, in his mind, that recounted the events that he could've handled better, but didn't.

The same voice taunted him about the deaths of friends and family, his significant other and best friend, who felt like a brother to him. The same voice, whose it was he didn't know, smote him about how he failed his destiny. How his goal was unreachable and he was childish to believe he could reach it, because, or so told the voice him, it was impossible and if someone, anyone, could do it, it wasn't Cole MacGrath. Not Cole MacGrath, the dropout, ex-delivery boy with the weak gift, he owned. Not Cole MacGrath, who had chosen to let his girlfriend die, murdered his best friend, read: brother, in cold blood without mercy. Not Cole MacGrath, who let memories haunt him till this day and pounders over the past, which cannot be undone. Not Cole MacGrath.

Never Cole MacGrath.

It made him sad, but he shouldn't be sad, he should be happy. He'd received the power to save the last in the world, he was god and that voice shouldn't put him off his mission, his life goal, his destiny. And yet… this happiness felt more like sorrow.

Delsin looked up, like every sane person would do if their goddamn door got smashed open with such a force that a vase fell to the ground, to burst in ten thousand little pieces. His eyes left the patch of carpet, he was focused on and without the furious glare on it to keep it in control, the small flame slowly spread. The boy didn't notice and just glared at the intruder, who stood in the frame of the door.

And even though something inside his chest loosened up, when he saw it was indeed his older sibling, that was outlined in the door, he didn't show it. The muscles in his face were still locked, eyes remained narrowed and his lips stayed turned down in a frown. No happy, half smile appeared or a twinkle in his eyes, not even a relieved breath passed his lips. Nothing, but eyes, that had seen too much, in a blank face, no emotion displayed whatsoever. Just a young man with eyes, too old for his age and a face rid of all emotions. It was somewhat scary.

Reggie gave his brother a one over and nodded to him, before stepping inside. His eyes removed themselves from Delsin's face and rested on the broken pieces on glass that laid all over the floor. Reggie groaned, much like a certain conduit earlier and grumbled a bit under his breath.

Delsin, on the other hand, didn't stop watching the other. His eyes still glued to Reggie's form, that slowly made his way to the kitchen. When the door was slammed behind the older man's figure, just then he turned his head away.

He wanted to scream and curse, lose his temper, because Reggie did actually scare him, but that wasn't in character for the conduit, so he locked his mouth and settled his attention back on the carpet.

The carpet, the fucking carpet that was on fire. With a flick of his wrist a beam of smoke left Delsin's palm and covered the flame. Like a bubble almost, the fire raised and tried to escape the clutches of the smoke bubble, but failed and the lack of oxygen was its downfall. Slowly, but surely the fire reduced to a small flame, before disappearing all together. The only prove that it ever had been there, was the burnt spot of carpet underneath and the smoke still lingering in the air.

Reggie shouldn't noticed it, it was just another stain on an already ruined carpet, because it wasn't the first time Delsin fucked up. Not by far, but Reggie did notice.

The older Rowe sat down, something soggy on his plate and a drink clasped in his hand. His face was turned to the ground and slowly with a snail-like pace he lifted his head up again and then maybe even slower looked to the side.

''Delsin?'' His voice was tight and calm. The conduit didn't look away from the television screen, where several guns were fired after each other. He had suggested they watched a movie, he had recorded and hesitantly the older man had agreed, although the friendliness was nothing like the Delsin he knew and had raised.

''What is that on the carpet?'' He bowed down, dropping his spoon. Ashes rested on the patch, he inspected. And guess who could sprout fire spontaneously from his hands. Yeah, good guess.

''Which one?'' The fake innocence couldn't be missed in his tone. ''This one?'' He pointed a finger to a brown spot to the left, a remainder that Reggie should never ever drink. Especially not tonic. Said man shook his head and glared at the floor.

''That one?'' Delsin moved his hand to the right, designating a faint smear, it was barely noticeable, but both brothers knew how it came there, like it happened yesterday. It was a day they both rather forgot, but watching your little brother panic and cry, because how the hell did that glass just explode? They didn't really talk about that stain or the memories it held. Just cleaned it out the best they could and that was that.

''No.'' Reggie snapped, mentioning at the spot before him. A dark incinerated smudge, still smelling and it felt fresh. Delsin shrugged and turned his attention back to the TV, an commercial for shampoo was on and even though he was annoyed by the high pitched voice over, he acted like it was oh so interesting. Delsin Rowe was the first person to ever find an commercial interesting. Ever.

''Do you even wash your hair?'' A simple question, delivered with a snarky tone and if he wasn't Delsin's brother, God knows what had happened. But he was his sibling, so all Delsin did was hum and watch the lady wash her hair. How would Reggie's hair look aflame? Oh dreams, sweet, sweet dreams.

For the record, he washed his hair daily.

They didn't came around to talking about where Reggie was the other day, till the next night. The older Rowe was surrounded by stacks of paperwork, that were due soon and the younger Rowe sat in a chair, watching him, while eating some chips.

''So,'' Bolt as ever, Delsin finally decided he wanted to know what he was missing out on. ''Where were you?'' At first he was ignored, but the whining, if you asked Delsin he would tell you it was manly demanding and not whining, got to the older man and eventually he snapped.

He slammed his hands on the table and sent Delsin a look. When he finally spoke, his voice was laced with irritation.

''What do you want, Delsin?'' The last word was spit out and venom stuck to his voice. If Reggie wasn't on his last pen, he would have thrown that fucker across the room to his whining, little brother, but he was, so no throwing things in his rage for him today.

''You didn't came home, so where were you?'' Delsin's tone wasn't all that friendly either. Of course Reggie knew what he was talking about it, he saw it in how his brother tensed up and his eyes filled with distress. His face just screamed: I don't want to talk about it. Yet if Delsin had a say in the matter, they were going to talk about the matter at hand.

''I was just out.'' The words were shaky and obvious lies, so obvious even Reggie himself could hear it.

''Cut the crap, Reggie.'' His voice was sharp and hard, he wasn't in for games tonight. The opposite shot him a look, clearing his throat and at last looked him in the eye. When their eyes met, the tension seemed to manifold.

''Don't talk to me like that.'' Delsin rolled his eyes. Not going to bite this time, Reg. Although there was enough to argue about in family matters and Delsin liked to prove his points, read: loved, he wasn't going to take the bait this time.

''Whatever, just tell me where you were, then we're done.'' It wasn't a question any longer, it was a demand. A harsh demand and if the tone that went with it was anything to go off on. It was also a threat.

''I just ran into some trouble.'' The reply was mumbled and if Delsin hadn't got the gen he wouldn't have heard it at all. He raised a brow. Reggie and trouble? Those words never shared the same sentence, he was the trouble kid of the family, the black sheep, Reggie was the golden child, the better son. And it didn't matter how much it bothered him, it was the truth and he didn't bother to change his bad reputation. Why would he, like his family, those who were still alive, would give a fuck about him? A good son or not.

''Right… Wanna specific what kind of trouble?'' Just trouble wasn't much to work with and no, that didn't mean he wanted to go seek out the guys that gave Reggie a black eye, not at all. Said man snorted and shook his head.

''Not really.''

''Well, you gotta.'' Delsin shuffled his chair a little bit closer to the kitchen table and thus so Reggie.

''Why doesn't that surprise me?'' Reggie's voice was dry and his eyes were cast down. It wasn't really a story he liked to share, not even with the other Rowe. He rather forgot about his encounter with that man, no, conduit, that monster. Yet, the conduit pressed on and encouraged his brother to speak.

''Haven't you watched the news, Delsin?'' And if that was a crack in his voice, neither addressed it. Instead of answering, Delsin just shook his head, no. The human mirrored the move and let his hand rest on his temple. A sigh escaped his lips and the wrinkles on his forehead were suddenly all that more noticeable.

Something was bothering, bothering him bad.

So being the loving brother that he was, sometimes, he popped out the movie disk and switched on the local news channel. It was chaos, that was the first thing he noticed. Chaos all over the place. The newsreader was shaky, pulling her hands through her hair desperately, while trying to read the stories for her audience. Pictures flashed across the screen, one topic highlighted as the most important one.

**Dangerous conduits in Seattle. **

He read on the TV, the lady slowly telling about how, what and when. She told it with no details, just the base lines. She wasn't allowed to tell the full story and god, he doubted she even knew the full story. Reggie, however, could write a full out novel about it.

An army of dangerous conduits, seemly out of control, invaded Seattle two days ago, to kill half of the DUP located at the west of Seattle, to after that leave abruptly. To regroup or so they thought.

That was everything she had to say and with a: 'Thank you for watching, this was Aliza Stevens, from channel eight.' The screen went black, no other channels on anymore, not after three. After three you only got the news at six and after that the signal was just nothing, just blackness.

''You happen to know more about this, Reggie?'' He tossed the remote to said man, who cursed when it hit him straight in the chest. He scrabbled something down with his pencil and even when it didn't make any sense (butter, ice, _oil_), it provided a chance of avoiding the question asked.

''You do, don't you?'' His voice was tight and the room faintly began to smell like smoke. Just a little, but noticeable and that was all it took for Reggie to look up. Delsin almost sweated smoke, but still he was also known to set fire to all his lovely furniture. After all he didn't want his home burned down by his upset little brother, not if he could help it. Which was probably useless, but he needed to at least try.

''It was just a brief encounter with them,'' He mumbled, chair creaking and peeping when he stood. ''Nothing to worry about, really, I think I just hit my head to hard and blacked out for the night.'' He said casually, trying to get around Delsin. Said sibling wasn't having any of it and swiftly blocked the other's way. While Reggie was older, Delsin was taller.

''Nothing to worry about,'' He mocked, sarcasm thick and clear. He put his hands up, shrugging.  
''Sure, sure, let's just ignore the fact that you didn't came home that night. Sure.'' Reggie sighed again, he did that a lot when around Delsin.

''Don't make a huge deal about this,'' The conduit looked like he wanted to make a snippy remark and thus so interrupt him, but he held up his hand.  
''Why do you care anyway?'' And Reggie shouldn't be allowed to ask that. He shouldn't be allowed. Delsin locked up, slinked away, muscles tight and mouth forming a frown.

''You know what?'' The hurt wasn't noticeable, but that didn't took away the fact that it still hurt him. Inside he was a raging storm, screaming and crying, but on the outside, he was a stoic, blank faced man, a boy really, with a calm and collected plan, when he clearly hadn't got one.

''Fuck you, Reggie, fuck you.'' The faint smell of smoke followed him out, when he went. Their encounters ended too often in fights, but Reggie couldn't get himself to change it.


	7. Chapter 6: Feisty woman

**Chapter six  
**Sasha wasn't a simple woman, wasn't flattered by mere flowers or a box of milk chocolate. She didn't fall in love, she didn't do love, she, however, did lust and many men had known that. Yet, somehow the conduit found herself madly in love with the one and only beast from Empire city, but it couldn't really be love right? Sasha didn't participate in love and still she sat on the couch, watching, observing the man she felt attracted to.

Cole wasn't an ugly man. Well to her he wasn't, she liked the rough edge his appearance held and the glowing eyes in the middle of his face, illuminated it. She liked the tattoos that covered every inch of his arms and the muscles he possessed. He was like the title, he wore proudly, a beast of a man. He looked like he could rip a simple human to shreds under two seconds and something in that called out to her.

It was weirdly pleasant to be around someone that could actually defeat her in battle, someone who was stronger than her, because believe her before Cole back in Empire city, nobody came even close to the strength she possessed. Not that anyone could come close enough to harm her psychically, her Reapers made sure of that.

She didn't know where these feelings came from, these thoughts came from, but they arrived and stayed, even when she tried so hard to stop them.

So did she love Cole, that was up for discussing in her opinion, but really who was she kidding.

''What is the matter, Sasha?'' The soft voice wasn't nothing like the gruff one of their leader, was the first thing she noticed and she could have hit herself over the head. Junior stood before her, head down and hands behind his back. What was the little bastard up to?

''What?'' She hissed and the venom was loud and clear. He shrugged, hands coming into her line of vision, they were glowing a slight purple, just like the rest of his skin, she suddenly noticed. It was a sign he'd just used his gift, but it was just in the afternoon. She furrowed her brows and observed the young boy.

''I… um… didn't mean to but…-'' He licked his lips, when he gulped in a breath.

''What. Did. You. Do?'' Every word was its own sentence and added to the scary tone she was going for. He waved around with his hands frantically, going from left to right, from up to down.

''Spit it out!'' And so he did, hands sweaty and eyes wide. She didn't mean to raise her voice, but she sure as hell wasn't going to apologize. Not to Junior, not to fucking anybody.

''Some conduit, I don't even know its name, came around and I was just upset…'' It. He called the conduit it, not him or her, just it. How much did she mess this boy up, no, not her. How much did this world mess this boy up?

''Who was it?'' Silence, only their breathing was heard in an otherwise silent room. Till he broke it, angry voice loud and echoing.

''The fuck do I know!'' He glared, eyes slightly purple. ''Who cares anyway?'' She pressed her hand against her temple, she didn't need this shit, so she shook her head. This was an argument she didn't need to win, not over something as simple as an unknown conduit, one she wouldn't have cared about either way.

''Yeah. Who cares anyway.''

Cole wanted to ask why there was one less conduit in the group, that protected the barn and the land around it, but that would show he cared, kept track of the little numbers, it would show compassion and that he actually cared for them. That, he decided, was close to showing them one of his weaknesses, it would take away his strong reputation as leader and that was something he wanted to evade.

So he snapped his mouth shut and gave strict orders at those who still were present.

''I want nobody in or out.'' Nodding, a lot of nodding and he mirrored the action. ''Nobody in or out.'' He repeated.

''Not till I'm back, got that?'' A sneer made its way onto his face and more nodding followed. And with a mumbled: 'good' under his breath, he slammed the fence behind him shut.

He could hear movement after that, hurried steps and unhappy voices and Cole speeded up. The thrusters under his arms activated and fired him up in the air, high enough to not be noticed by anyone who didn't pay attention, people after all don't look up. Never look up, as he had found out a long, long time ago.

The pull in his chest got stronger along the way, how closer to the city of Seattle, how stronger the pull. It didn't came as a surprise, where else would Reggie go, than to his warm home and lovely company. When Cole was done with him, the home wouldn't be that nice anymore and the lovely company, if indeed confirmed to be the one with the gen, would be far gone from dear old Reggie.

He hoped, secretly, that the conduit was a beautiful young woman, one to fill the gap Kuo, Nix and foremost Trish left behind. It wasn't to forget Trish, don't get him wrong, our dear fellow just felt lonely and well loneliness got to everyone, even to the big, scary beast.

Loneliness was hard on Cole, with Zeke around, he was ok with Zeke, Nix and Kuo around it was bearable, he was ok and even with just Lucy to bug the hell out of him twenty-four-seven, he was ok. He was ok, but then the ice conduit got ripped straight out of his life, poof, gone, death and cooling. Next to the ,still fresh in his mind, lost of both a woman, who he could have loved and his brother by bond, it was too much.

It had resulted in an explosion, that you could have seen from across the Atlantic ocean. So bright and gigantic it was. The explosion so enormous, that whole Paris was whipped of the maps, ruined and gone.

It had also resulted in more loneliness. A sudden wave of it hit him right in his face, it swallowed him and made him almost drown. Yet somehow he managed to pull himself out of dread and sadness, getting his eyes on his goal, their, goal and go on.

But he never forgot. He could still remember the last words Trish had uttered, soft and breathy, simple just three words: ''Keep going, Cole.'' No 'I love you', he wished he got or the 'I hate you', he expected, just three simple words to keep his being together and it worked. He stood, eyes full of rage and sorrow and kept going. It was an unspoken promise to his significant other, one she would have wanted him to make and so he did.

He could still remember the last words Zeke spit out, hard and somehow loving. Their motto, their thing: 'Half as long, twice as bright.' And wasn't it true, but not for him, surprisingly, but for his friend, brother, wingman. Zeke shined hard, but went down far too young. It should have been the other way around, but it wasn't.

He could still remember the last words Nix shouted at him, venom laced to her voice and teeth gritted. 'You're a dead fool, demon.' And that was that, he finished her there. Bolt going through her head, eyes melted and face unrecognizable. The only bright side was that she didn't suffer, much. Nix was right though, he was a demon, is a demon and not only from Empire City or New Marais anymore.

He could still remember the last words Kuo, Lucy, told him, voice almost inaudible and heartbeat slowing. 'Keep on going.' So much alike to those of Trish, yet different, not only in phrasing, but in tone as well. Lucy's tone was demanding, hard and business, almost as cold as her personality and gift. It was a order, not a goodbye or a message to support, it was a cold, hard order slipping of her tongue. It was so much alike to Trish's, but yet so different.

He could still remember the last words of John, even though they are faint, they aren't screams in his head like the others, or nightmares waiting for the dark to resurface. It was a faint whisper in the morning, during dawn and afternoon. They were clear in the end: 'I can't do it anymore.' The pain, the sadness and regret in his voice, till this day, are eye opening. The truth suddenly blasted in the conduit's face, because even John, who put himself together, made his own body from memory, couldn't do it anymore. Sometimes Cole felt like that too and sometimes he thought about John more so than the others, sometimes he thought about how selfish the previous beast was, shoving his duties and responsibilities on him, Cole MacGrath. Then he needs to remind himself, that John never really was a selfish man, because he really wasn't even though sometimes you could doubt that.

And even though so much last words have been spoken the last seven years, there have been also so much first words. Not from Zeke or Trish, the ones that in the end mattered the mast even after death. But from Kuo, Nix, John, Kessler, Sasha, Junior and even that moron Reggie.

He could still remember those as well. He can still remember the first words Kuo said to him, the disgust for conduits coming out and how ironic that had been in the end. All business she said: 'Listen to me and we can get this over with.' Yet another hard, cold demand and somehow Cole doesn't think her powers changed her personality even a single bit.

He could still remember the first words Nix spoke around him, fiery passion and hate for Betrand and his lackeys as bright as the day of their meeting. She had jumped, scaring him with her power and drawled: 'Ready for some action, baby?' After, of course, some squeals of 'the demon of Empire city!'. He felt their band almost immediately.

He could still remember John's, even clearer so than his last. He was concerned, it shone in his eyes and when he spoke, the same worry clung to his words: 'I need to talk to you.' It was an conversation he rather forgets. The conversation that started all.

He could still remember his first words, because in the end they were his right. Kessler was him, just with some fancy powers and a different name and oh, from the future. He looked at him, grinning: 'Your decisions are never right, are they, Cole?' The laugh that followed made the conduit want to smash Kessler's head in, but he couldn't do that. Kessler knew all his moves and thought, hell Kessler was him. He also was right, Cole's decisions were rarely right. Never shoot the truth speaker.

He could still remember Sasha's words to him on the day they met, they were smug and annoying, expressing everything he hated about her. Past tense. 'Good looking, handsome.' He was a lucky fella her trick didn't work on him, because differently he would have been screwed for sure. Both in the literal and figural sense of the word.

He could somewhat remember the words Junior murmured, when Sasha came in with him. 'Hello, sir.' Paired with a tug on his mind, it woke the curious cat inside him and even though he damn well knew curiosity killed the cat, he asked the question.  
'What can ya do, boy?' It wasn't much, not compared to Sasha or him, but enough for him to stay and so it went. Never sent someone away who can come back to bite you in the ass. Never do.

He could still remember the words of Reggie and it isn't really surprising, mainly because it happened somewhat over seventy-two hours ago and he should have a real bad memory if that already slipped from his mind. Just: 'Reggie.' And the human made him think about how weird it was, that none of the others he got to know in the past ever started with their name. Reggie was the first.

Cole stared at his hands, still floating through the air and somehow he still didn't reach the city. How far did they went out? The time on hands gave him thinking time, alone and peaceful, something that rarely happened. There was always someone who needed his immediate attention or an case to tend to. It wore him out and to just think was amazing.

He could still remember Trish's first words to him and the feeling she gave him. He was just a delivery boy, cycling down the street and she was a college student, young and bright. She had a future, where he had nothing but the next day. And if he was completely honest, which he was, he was smitten for her the very first time they met. He was a goner with the simple phrase: 'That's a nice tattoo.' And it was a cliché and it was stupid, it's like saying someone's shirt is nice or their hair looks good, just because they look down and need a little of cheering up. It was a cliché and it was stupid, but Cole loved it all the same.

He could still remember Zeke and the aura he'd around him. The first time the men met there were no words, just looks and glances at each other. Cole sat on the roof of his apartment building, shouting insults at the people below, all unaware of his presence and he liked it that way, when the door behind him flew open and a man came out of the stairway. He remembered how Zeke puffed and sweated. Zeke had shot him one look and sat down beside him, both pairs of legs swinging over the side. He offered him a beer, having stocked up on them for if he needed them, which he did for the record. With a grin Zeke accepted, tipping his head to him and gulping the alcohol down. There they sat in silence and peace, just sharing smiles and glances and it was just perfect.

The first time they actually spoke to one another was two days after that, same spot and same time. Same Zeke, puffing and sweating and same Cole, silent and shaking of the sadness that clouded his mind.  
Zeke spoke first: 'Hiya brother, name's Zeke.' All together with a slur, he held out his hand, beer clasped in his palm.  
'Cole, nice to meet ya.' It was a cliché and it was stupid, but somehow he found somebody who wanted to put up with his shit and that was a task all on its own.

A car horn alerted him, blasting when he lands in front of it. His eyes went wide, reddish glow fading away and thrusters hidden. Look normal, act normal, because it wasn't the time to go in guns blazing, this asked for stealth. So no electricity coming from his palms or jumping over cars. He let his eyes scan the area and they finally rested on a yellow and black car parked to the side.

''Taxi it is.'' And so it was.


	8. Chapter 7: Alex and Nelly

**Chapter seven  
**'' You know what I don't quite get?'' A DUP member groaned from their position, this man was Alexander and he was new to the organization that called itself the DUP. Short for Department of Unified Protection, which was quite a mouth full if you are being blasted away by a damned conduit and you need backup… you get the idea. It wasn't really his choice either, it was that or going to jail and while he was a pussy when it came to fighting conduits, it seemed like a better deal than serving time in prison.

One of the persons doing surveillance next to him turned their head towards him, indicating he got her attention. This girl was Nelly and Nelly was more of a talker than a listener, so it was a big thing she was willing to lend an ear at all.

''Why do we arrest so many people, to just lock them up, half of them are proved to not be conduits. After all we used the everlight.'' Nelly shot him a glare, brown eyes meeting his mid air and the look she had would sent shivers up everybody's spine.

Alexander coughed, rubbed the back of his neck and continued: ''Right, bio-terrorists, you know what I mean. Aren't they innocent?'' His partner scoffed, brushing off her jacket and stood. Her muscles protested and her bones cracked.

''We don't know how much they have associate with the terrorists and if they are potentials. Besides that, they are always arrested for a good reason, not just because you walked the wrong way.'' With a roll of her eyes and a dramatic flip of her hair, she stepped towards the fence. She peeked over it, looked left and right, never up or down and gave the other a nod.

''Nobody seen.'' Alexander confirmed when he spoke into his walkie-talkie. Some static and then: 'Roger that.' He stretched his legs and made his way over to the other DUP member.

''So, what are we going to do all day, they aren't coming back today, that's for sure.'' Nelly complained, a whine audible in her voice. He shrugged, biting his lip and watched the civilians. That was what he did, until a certain so called 'civilian' stood out. It wasn't that hard for him either, with his ripped jeans, half burned away shirt, menacing looking tattoos and scarred face. He was bulky and had some muscle on him for sure.

It wasn't really that weird in Seattle, but after all the events you couldn't be careful enough. He poked Nelly in her side and pointed at the guy. Said man seemed to shine and his eyes almost glowed, but it couldn't be a cond- bio-terrorist, from what Alexander had seen and read they were violent and out to destroy every human being, this man in front of them, was just quietly making his way down town. Had this, whatever it was, gotten to his head that he saw ghosts?

Nelly, for the record, thought he did. She put her hand on his shoulder and steered him away from the fence. She shook her head, what had her partner been up to?

''He is just walking down the street, Alex. You paranoia!'' She tried to laugh it off, but the fake cheeriness was even to her noticeable. Alex just nodded, shrugging, but somehow he couldn't get his mind of the guy from down the street.

Delsin just meant to blow of some steam and that became reality, quite literally. He let the fire form in his palm, warm, small and familiar. He threw it, really at nothing, but somehow it ended up on the towel of the lady, swimming in the sea. It was a hot day and the towel was spread out far enough from the water, to let the flame grow. It nipped at the cotton of said towel and slowly it disappeared. Burned away and eaten by his flame.

It was a miracle nobody saw anything, but what do you expect? A beach full of ignorant people, many laying down, sunglasses planted on their nose and bathing, others splashing in the sea, trying to hold their breath under water. A beach full of ignorant people, not only to the small fire, Delsin had started, but to the worlds situation. Here they were, enjoying the rare sunlight Seattle got on the beach, instead of tending to the situation at hand.

There were conduits, somewhere, who wanted to invade their Seattle and kill the pathetic human beings living there. Yet here they were swimming and playing in the water. It wasn't really a miracle, at all.

When the towel was gone and his flame hit the sand, it slowly hissed and dissolved. What a shame, he thought when he stared at the patch of sand. But like the flame, his anger was just gone. Leaving him behind with raging argument inside his head and a heavy heart.

Delsin jumped down from the jetty and with a thud landed in the sand. He stuck out, with his beanie covering most of his hair and the warm coat he wore, the long pants he had on didn't help him blend in.

Some people shot him a look, some worried, others foul, but he could deal. He had dealt with the good and the bad side of humanity ages ago, especially the bad side. You got enough of shady figures around and in Seattle, look for them in dark, enclosed areas and you're bound to find someone, anybody.

The youngest Rowe was used to the looks filled with vulgar and the insults thrown around him, it was easy to ignore and close himself off to everyone. Easy and simple, but that didn't have to mean he liked the solitude. Although it was the only thing he knew nowadays.

Alexander knew something wasn't right and in a way that guy had something to do with it. His sense tingled and his instinct was screaming at him. Nelly just grinned at him, laughing at him, not with him and turned around to face their supervisor. She saluted him and bowed slightly, such a heckler the girl was. A little less excited Alex put his hand in the air and said the salute, before hurrying and sitting down next to his partner. She may be a shitty one, but she was his partner all the same.

Nelly spared him one look and then switched her eyes to the supervisor. It was a woman in her mid-thirties. A strict look was plastered on her face, arms across her chest and her in a tight bun. She made wild hand gestures, lips forming words, Nelly didn't quite catch.

The meeting was brief and they were lucky to have a recap at the end. It was like they had all expected about the bio-terrorist that had come to their city, to destroy and take. The supervisor had ranted and rambled on about how bad they were and how Satan had sent them to claim the land in his name, she was a bit cray-cray, as the youth liked to say. Nelly wasn't really listen and so she did notice when Alex stood and tried to sneak out of the room.

He did a good job, till he tripped, like four times, over the legs of people. She snorted, brushing some bangs out of her face. The supervisor didn't pay the young boy any attention, rather continued with her rant with passion. Nelly wanted to go after her partner, but the look she got from the old lady made her freeze. God fucking damn it.

Alexander waited in front of the entrance a few minutes for Nelly, but when the door on exactly the fifth minute didn't open, he turned around and speeded away. The supervisor always seemed to have this weird hate for men, her eyes always judging and her hands always swatting them away. It was most defiantly from her past, something, anything had happened and changed her. Trauma. What? Well he rather didn't find out.

With a skip in his step, he hurried down the street, set on finding the man. It had bugged him, still bugged him and he couldn't just shake the feeling off. It didn't hurt checking it out, right? That was if he could find the man at all.

North, he went north and for once Alex was glad he paid attention to the little things, the small details everybody else seemed to just brush to the side. It was always like that, when others looked at the power of the terrorist, he remembered the eye color, small things, unimportant things, but yet somehow so important.

Little details, he mused, could save your fucking life.

When Cole emerged from the shadow, it was already getting dark, the clouds gathering above his head and shielding the raising moon. He noticed men, women and children hurrying home, out late for a family gathering or a shopping day and he observed them. Civilians flocked together, like nothing had happened just a few days ago, like no conduits had tried to kill them all. No, instead they just talked, laughed and played around like it was fucking Christmas.

''Merry fucking Christmas.'' Cole bristled, sinking a little more in his coat. It wasn't cold and even if it was, the beast wouldn't feel the cold wind beat down on him. He was invulnerable. He was the beast. He was Cole fucking MacGrath.

The pull in his chest tugged harder, towards his left and he didn't deny the feeling and twisted to his left. He flung one of his arms to his side, little sparks of fire spinning around his palm. Fire. A foreign, icky feeling spread in the pit of his stomach, he didn't like fire. His fire was not only harmful and dangerous for those he deemed his enemies, but for its master too. It would burn the hand that formed it, melting away skin, that knitted together just as quick. It was a flame that would spin out of control, losing its boundaries and lashing out.

It was like Cole in some ways.

His fire would also very unpredictable, coming out when it pleased and even he, the beast, couldn't stop it from having its own free will. The fire was one of the reasons Cole stuck to his beloved electricity. Many of his new found powers were in some degree uncontrollable.

He could count on one hand with which he felt good with and with more than hundred unique powers in his arsenal, that was something, alright.

When the flame hissed for one last time, Cole made his way down the now empty streets of Seattle, following his feeling.


	9. Chapter 8: Instinct

**Chapter eight  
**Alexander was lost. Utterly lost in a city he knew like the back of his hand. Seemed like he didn't knew the back of his hand that well. Not if he could get lost in the town he grew up in. He played in these streets like a little kid all up to his teenage years.

The DUP member had gone north till he hit the wall that surrounded the city, parting Seattle from the rest of the world. He knew it was meant for safety, but now it was like a cage. In the past Alex viewed that as something good, it gave him the feeling of security, but now with wild conduits that could attack at any given moment that feeling had faded. They couldn't just be up and about when the conduits were going to attack, it was always first over the wall, through the wall or under the wall.

The man could be the key to the solution and why he thought that was a mystery even to himself. This weird aura surrounded the stranger and somehow it allured to Alex. He just felt like the guy had something to do with it all, maybe he could save them, because if he was realistic Alexander knew that the fight between conduits and the DUP was lost before it even began. A lost battle they still were going to fight, but he knew their loses were going to be gigantic comparing with those of the bio-terrorists. It wasn't hard to see coming, even without a freaky power to see in the future, but those who led them were all too stubborn to see their own faults, their own faults in their own system.

In a way Alexander understood them, accepting your failures was harder than it seemed and he knew it better than others. The faults ran through his family's blood. His grandmother had been a failure, injecting god knows what into her veins. His dad had inherited the same habit from his mom, like it ran through his blood and he took to it as easily as others do to breathing and sleeping. Fleeing when Alex was born didn't help him get his standards up, however he came back after seven hard years and the good old man bettered his life for sure. No longer did drugs rule his entire being and he actually cared for Alexander and his wife. He went out with more respect from his son than expected. It didn't mean that he himself was a pure saint, not at all, but at least he could say he never let his own kid and girlfriend behind and he was quite proud of that.

The DUP system was far from perfect but it was all the small town of Seattle still possessed as any sort of defense mechanism. Police was long gone from the street, paramedics were a foreign concept and being a firefighter didn't mean what it once meant.

A firefighter in the Seattle of now meant you liked to set people and buildings on fire, was blunt out a pyromaniac, it was mocking the system and it worked quite well, got under the higher up's skin, but not good enough to bring the man in red back. There were no resources for and getting the casernes up and running again wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

The system had it flaws, many at that, but it was the only thing the people could rely on. It was safe, because they all knew that the new and unknown was seen as danger. Who knew what it brought with it?

It had brought them the bio-terrorists. The conduits, even though that word was weird when spoken out loud nowadays. The bio-terrorists had powers beyond their imagination and what had they, the DUP? Mere human weapons, rifles, launchers and some grenades, just scratched their skin, if aimed right on the soft spots, and sometimes if they were lucky it would be burrowed into their flesh, hurting for a second before they bit through the bitter apple. When they bit through the bitter moment it'd just plop out of the wound and suddenly the wound was just soft skin like that of a baby. Alexander knew, had seen it plenty of times.

A lost battle really. It hadn't even started and he already knew they were never going to win.

Just as lost as Alex was at that moment. Somewhere in the outskirts of town, dragging himself through the streets of ruined Seattle. Wondering about things he should've already forgotten, but still thought about every now and then.

He lifted his head up, eyes shifting from his shoes to eye level. He saw a few old buildings to the side, looking like they almost were going to give out, probably were. In front of him the street was empty, here and there a lost animal and sometimes, if he kept a watchful eye out, he could see some shady figure sprint through the open street, illuminated only by the soft light of the lanterns.

This was one of the slums of Seattle, not many people lived there anymore and if they did it was because they wanted to be left alone. And why they wanted to be left alone was better left unspoken. It wasn't legal, but no one who looked around for that. The police wasn't around anymore and the criminals damn well knew the DUP had their own slur of problems. Bio-terrorism troubles. They didn't mend in with their business and vice versa. All was fine if they just kept to themselves.

He knew for a fact that he stood out. With his uniform still on and with his pistol swinging at his belt. It was no wonder he was easy to spot between men and women, who kept their heads down, wearing layers and layers of dark clothes. He wore a bright yellow and black suit, almost glowing in the dark night. You could see him coming from China. Not quite the undercover suit.

He also knew for a fact that the man he searched for would blend in perfectly fine. The ripped clothes and tattoos indicated he came from the street, had the smarts to survive in the hood. Yes, his mystery man would blend in just fine. He kept his own head down, had scars to prove he wasn't an easy target and his backpack looked suspiciously heavy. Armed probably. Alexander didn't doubt his mystery person could defend himself.

Lost in his mind, Alexander didn't notice the shady figure that came his way. He looked like he was in haste, missing an appointment or coming too late. Neither of these things were true, but in haste he was. Alex didn't see the scars that defined his face or the tattoos crawling up his arms and peeking out from under the hem of his almost dissolved shirt.

A solid shoulder bumped against Alex's and damn it hurt. He stumbled back a few steps, trying to regain his balance before looking up at the stranger. Said stranger didn't walk away right away, took a moment to study the DUP member in front of him and Alexander mirrored his actions. Both men took each other in, neither ashamed they were staring.

Which resulted in a surprised gasp of Alex's. Mystery man right the fuck in front of him. Same tattered clothes, same spiraling tribal tattoos curling up the flesh of his arm, same scar on his face; going from his cheekbone to his collarbone; white and fade and some vivid piercing eyes fallen back in his face. Yes, this was for a fact Alex's mystery man. He eyed the bag on the man's shoulder with care and saw indeed something glister under the fabric. It wasn't your normal gun, it was something Alex never had seen, not even in the shady alleys from a long, long time ago.

Mystery man took his own time to take in his form. What a sight he must have made. The man, a boy really, dressed in a suit too big for his thin form, with his hair messy and his eyes misty. He smirked, bright and wide, and shook his head, before swirling around and walking away. Like Alexander wasn't looking at him with wide, surprised eyes. Like Alexander wasn't there.

The kid wore a bright yellow and black suit, five sizes too big and it swallowed him whole. It was a comedic sight to Cole and he took his damn time taking in the slender form of the young boy. If he met the kid seven years back he'd have laughed at his form, would have joked around with the other, but it wasn't seven years earlier and Cole hadn't got time for small talk and a smirk made its way on his face. Any other day Cole would have taken the clear invite to a cat and mouse game anytime, but now on his way to his new partner, he didn't have time for such fun activities.

Shame.

He was a DUP, no doubt in his mind and he was looking for him, if the wide eyes and the gaped mouth were anything to go by and yes they were. So long for his undercover work, but from the reaction he received, the boy didn't know he was indeed the beast, the leader. Or even a conduit for the matter. Which could work in his advantages.

He threw a glance over his shoulder, the mini form of the surprised DUP member was still there. Hadn't moved one tiny bit and somewhere inside of Cole a little small voice told him to go introduce himself. But Cole, even though he didn't look like he got any, did possess a tiny notch of self control and could if clear think quite rational, he still could come up with the thought that it wouldn't be the best idea to go over to the DUP boy and say: hi, I'm the leader of the conduits! Nice to meet you. That wouldn't work out well, not in any scenario.

But maybe, just maybe, he'd meet the boy later. Somewhere in the near future, maybe he possessed the gen.

''Just one way to find out…''

With a sigh he depressed that feeling to get to know the boy and stretched his palm out and concentrated. A invisible pulse vibrated through the air and when he opened his eyes again they were glowing slightly pink. He shot a look over his shoulder, the tiny figure of the boy now had a clear and shining aura around his contour.

The boy was entirely pink.

Shame.


	10. Chapter 9: Guests

**Chapter nine  
**Reggie slept when his brother stormed into his room. Delsin's eyes were ablaze, smoke swirling around him like it always did when the conduit was furious. And furious he was. The balled fists, the tight skin around his mouth and the trembling lips, all clues of the hidden anger under the shore.

Reggie jumped up, heavy steps and hard clanks calling to his attention and he searched for the source of the sound. His eyes fell on Delsin. Little Delsin Rowe, the second son, his little brother, conduit. Little Delsin Rowe who wasn't that little anymore, the bulging muscles in his arms and his broad shoulders were visible evidence of this.

''What?'' his reply was short and snappy, but really could you blame the poor man? He had an unpleasant encounter with the most creepy man in the entire universe a mere day or two ago, which resulted in no sleep and if he somehow fell into a slumber it meant horrifying nightmares.

Sometimes Reggie saw his parents. His long dead parents. His parents who would tell with great passion why he hated him, them and why they chose to leave them behind in the shithole of an house when he turned just seventeen. Part of it was true, they did die when Reggie was seventeen, Delsin was a little ten year old, but there story wasn't such a sappy, shitty story. He could keep them fed, clean and going. The job he'd hadn't been the greatest, but it did work and now with his desk job at the police department he couldn't be happier. It was a tragic story, without actually the really tragic part. Yet from what he could remember his parents loved their sons, both of them, to pieces and while he'd that knowledge it still hit him brick hard.

Sometimes Reggie saw his brother. No, most of the time Reggie saw his brother. In more scenarios than he could count. In some of his dreams Delsin was crazy, powers out of control and he just wasn't his Delsin anymore. In others he died in every way possible, over and over again. Like groundhog day.

''_Why_ is there a work associate downstairs at twelve thirty p.m.?'' that got him awake. His eyes snapped open and his blankets were thrown to the floor, while he half assed attempted to find his pants somewhere in the mess that was his room.

Delsin snorted and ducked down, retrieving a piece of clothing of the ground. The conduit was always surprised at how Reggie could make his room such a chaotic mess all the freaking time. Although you may have not expected it, Delsin's own room was quite nice, not a spot out of place, but… that may have been because he never was there. He'd deny it, but most of the time he slandered through the streets doing god knows what. Probably burning things… or people… or both. He tossed the jeans to his brother, aiming at his face and hitting it dead on. With a small grin gracing his lips, he nodded.

''You need to clean this room, man.'' Reggie rolled his eyes in annoyance. He did know that, his room was like a garbage dump. Literally. If he craned his neck he could see a bit of the black textile of the garbage bag in the corner of the room. Oh and was that the skin of a banana? Yes, next to his lunch from last week. But he was busy, however that wasn't really a good excuse, because damn did he live in a mess. One big, devastating mess.

''Yeah, yeah.'' he flicked his wrist and pulled on the hopefully clean jeans and stretched his legs. Who of the company would want to discuss business at this time of the night? Maybe Marcus.

Marcus was the work-a-holic of his section in the police department. Always busy, always working and it was a miracle his wife hadn't left him yet. Jenna was pretty enough, but Reggie had this feeling money played a big part in their marriage. Lately with The Deal going on, the man had been extra stressed, wanting everything to be tip top perfect. Shouldn't surprise Reggie if it was Marcus.

''He claimed it had to do with ''The Deal''.'' Delsin mocked him with bunny ears in the air and gave him a spite smile. Reggie handled it. Always had, always would, because well they were family. Siblings. Brothers. No matter how annoying his little brother became he was stuck with him and sometimes he hated that and sometimes he didn't. This was one of those moments he wished Delsin had his own apartment or even just got the fuck out of his room. The small blessings, you know.

Marcus. It had to be Marcus. If one college of his came at this time to his house and he claimed it had to do with The godforsaken Deal. It couldn't be anyone but Marcus. Nobody, not even insane Ed, would come in the pitch black of the night to talk about business. In that object Ed was quite sane, knew where to keep the work load, right, at work.

''I may go out tonight, don't get to wild now, Reggie?'' a wink and his brother disappeared out of the door. Said door was slammed behind him, wood splintering and Reggie groaned. Sure, he could handle a broken bedroom door as well. Fantastic.

He dragged himself out of the room, grabbing a vest of the railing of the stairs and hurried down said stars with swift steps. He wanted to deal with Marcus and get back to bed. Oh, how sleep sounded amazing at that moment. His tired legs came to a halt in front of the closed door that led to the living room. A shiver of light came from under the door and a shadow on the ground signaled that there was indeed someone there. With his shoulder he pushed the door open, it was a clap door and today with his tiredness it was handy. Mainly because he didn't feel like he could lift his hands high enough to turn the doorknob.

There was no Marcus. There was no conduit. There was no monster.

There was only a girl.


	11. Chapter 10: Surprises

**Chapter ten  
**Reggie learned her name was Nelly. She didn't let him speak and started her own story almost immediately. It was ridiculous, she even offered him a seat on his own couch, but he took it and said nothing. Her sentences came out wary and wiry and sometimes he'd a hard time to follow her.

Nelly worked for the DUP. That much was obvious. She started her speech with saying she came here in the name of the DUP. Much like a religious person would do when they came and rang your doorbell. Reggie had always slammed his front door closed in their faces, but it wasn't an option to do this with Nelly. She wasn't about to be denied and it became clear quite fast.

Nelly was a talker. Not once could he get a remark in or a comment. Nothing, nada, noppes. He felt like a kid getting lectured and in some way he was. She told him about conduits or how she preferred to call them: bio-terrorists. She didn't tell him a thing he didn't already know and he spaced out till she began about the invasion from just a few days back.

Her words were grand and so were her gestures. The small female waved around frantically and glared at him once in a while. She continued with her story about the danger the bio-terrorists brought them, like Reggie didn't know that already and how he could stop that.

His ears perked up at that part. He could stop them? In what for fantasy world did Nelly live in?

Then he understood. Understood why she didn't want him interrupting. If he knew they would come to that point in the end, he'd have ran. Far, far away, maybe to the house where Marcus lived. Marcus was the business man. Not Reggie Rowe. Never Reggie Rowe.

The Deal. She wanted the deal now.

The Deal being a shipping of a Mother Everlight. It wouldn't have a normal effect on an conduit. No it would burn the skin it was aimed on away. Till the bone, nothing left. Yet that was crazy, insane! They never tested the Mother Everlight. He was just there to guard and sometimes help, because Reggie did have brains. Ok, so maybe he helped a whole lot. Being one of the five to create the Mother Everlight ,even though that wasn't in his job description.

It was crazy, undoable. And why did this Nelly girl came to him?

He asked that, screamed through her stupid speech and she was rendered to silence. First she was shocked with his interruption, but he couldn't care less and kept repeating his question, louder and louder. Then she was annoyed, flicking he hair out of her face angrily and glaring at her and the last stage was giving in. With a sigh she answered his question. The reply he received wasn't the one he hoped for.

''They're dead, mister Rowe. They died by the hands of the bio-terrorists. It was a miracle you could get away, your colleges on this project died the moment one of the bio-terrorists made their building fall apart.''

She mentioned for him to follow her out and just then Reggie noticed the sirens that came from just outside his doors and the flashing lights. She hadn't come alone. She pulled at his arm, looked up at him and saw his devastating face. His hurt expression and then like she had to think about it, she added:  
''I'm sorry for your lost.''

But Nelly wasn't sorry.

Cole smelt the DUP members before he saw them. The conduit was hidden in the shadows of an alleyway and from his place, if he peeked around the corner, he could see the house where his dear friend Reggie was located. First he saw one car, then two and then three. All where an hideous yellow with black striped, DUP painted on the side messily.

What did the service want with Reggie?

Or even better what did the service want with Nix 2.0?

As far as he knew the DUP didn't attack any of their citizens if they weren't conduits. Reggie wasn't an conduit, didn't even have a trace of the gen inside his veins. If he'd the gen somewhere, anywhere, Cole should've seen it. Feel it. He was god after all. But nothing, just the little red and white blood cells like every normal human, nothing more.

Why the hell were there three DUP cars parked in front of the man's house now then?

The beast watched with a hawk eye how Reggie was led to one of the cars by a small human female. She wasn't strong from what he could see so why wasn't he even trying to get loose? Maybe it was just that humans were natural cowards, he'd seen enough of it from his trip around the world. People who gave up their firstborns if it meant they weren't murdered, he still killed them of course, but that was another story. It showed what their real nature was and Cole didn't like it one bit.

Just then he noticed the guns all pointed at the poor human man.

Oh.

Oh.

Sometimes he forgot that humans weren't quite as instruct able as himself, but Trish and Zeke were examples of that. His heart constricted and his vision went foggy.

No. Don't think about that now.

He willed himself to get his head in the game and wait and watch what was going to happen.

Alexander wasn't so stupid to let the man leave his sight another time and sneaked after him. He was quiet, deadly, but he knew even if he'd the chance he never could take on the man. His arms bulged with muscle and his scars proved he'd taken down enough enemies himself. Besides the glimmering thing in his backpack made him uneasy. It wasn't a gun, it wasn't the right form, but what was it? He felt like he didn't really want to find out and he just followed slowly.

The DUP member had a feeling this man wasn't what he looked like. Sure he was absolutely a thug, but maybe also something more. Danger. He reeked of danger and somehow it called out to Alex. Just like the DUP job had done when he was faced with three year cell. Maybe the danger aspect of the job had played a big part in his choice too and had he just never thought about it.

Alexander liked danger, but only when he wasn't involved himself. Quite logical. If you were in life danger you also wouldn't just lay back and enjoy the moment now, would you? No, not any sane person would do that, but then again also no sane person would enjoy seeing others in death or alive situations. Alex did however and maybe that made him a little more insane than he would like to admit.

The man shot into an alleyway to the side and seemed to slink into the shadows. He certainly knew the rules of the street. Fade in was one everyone knew and followed. Don't stand out. Standing out, in the spotlight wasn't something good. Not here, not on the streets.

His mystery man suddenly jumped up in the air and a fiery glow appeared around his balled fists. He unwrapped his fingers and lines of orange electricity rushed from his palm. One of the lines glued itself to the building across the street, the other to a lantern. The man first pulled himself towards the lantern and not much later to the wall of the complex. Like it was nothing he landed on the roof with a thud. The orange lines dissolved and went up in smoke. He just jumped like two blocks. Two.

Oh.

Oh.

If you asked an insane man what he thought about that, his answer and that of Alex's would match almost a ninety percent.

That made it all just a little bit more interesting, but how the fuck was he going to get on that roof?

Nothing. Absolutely nothing happened. When Reggie was sitting safely in a car seat, the girl just took the place next to him on the back seat and gave a faint smile at the driver. The tires screeched when they speeded out of the street. Reggie hadn't taken his coat, because the pulse from his handy magnet still pulsed from inside the home.

Cole was a little disappointed he didn't get any action and shrugged. Undercover, he remembered himself. You're undercover. He flung one of his cables to the building and then to one of the streetlights. Two meant steady and the conduit liked steady.

It helped he'd done parkour in another life, because that seemed far longer ago than seven years. At least fifteen. He gripped the top of the house with his fingers, curled them around the brick wall and heaved himself up in the air. It was nothing anymore. Back in the day such a jump would mean his death, but now he could do it with ease and much, much more.

Like that one time he made his way over the volcano, straight over the hot, bubbling lava. He remembered the conduits who tried to stop him, but with one flick of his wrist those that tried were thrown in the lava themselves. He was the beast, god, if he wanted to do something, he damn well did. He launched himself with his thrusters over the magma and landed safely on two feet on the other side. He was the beast, god, he damn well knew what he was doing.

The vibrant pulse willed him to haste and he gave into the feeling.

Go. Hurried steps over the concrete of the roof and he searched for a way in.

Go. His way in was clear and out in the open. A smirk made its way on his face and he nodded. An chimney.

Go. Ho, ho, ho, children. He broke open the top, metal ducking in under his hands. Twisting and turning.

Go. Here is Santa!

Christmas would come early that year.


End file.
